The darkness roiling behind the Prime Shadow lingered, twisting and turning ominously, making the Prime Shadow look like a reaper of death. The Sword-Saint narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Prime Shadow. His mouth curled with obvious agitation as he instantly realized this situation was far more complicated than he had initially guessed.
"Prime Shadow," the Yang-Sovereign nodded his head. The Mage-Sovereign did the same, her amused smile returning as if she was enjoying what was unfolding before her. She glanced sideways at the Sword-Saint, her amused smile widening as she saw his expression.
The Prime Shadow greeted them in return, then shifted his gaze back to the Sword-Saint once more. The two locked eyes for a short while, silence filling the room. Suddenly, the Prime Shadow's aura flared for an instant, so quick as if it had never happened.
The Sword-Saint's hand snapped to the sword on his waist, gripping the hilt tight. The Prime Shadow smiled as he saw the Sword-Saint react as such, while John truly appreciated the guarded, almost uncertain look on the Sword-Saint's face.
"I heard from the Yang-Sovereign that you managed to break through recently," the Mage-Sovereign said, eyeing the Prime Shadow curiously. "With your cultivation stepping into the Late Holy Manifestation Realm, you are once again the most dangerous human on this world. Congratulations."
"You mean to say I lost that title in the first place?" the Prime Shadow asked.
"Would you like me to say that you were more dangerous than the Sword-Sovereign, or the Yang-Sovereign, while having a lower cultivation than them? That would be quite insulting from me," the Mage-Sovereign said, her amused smile never leaving her alluring face. She then sighed, as if truly dejected. "With you in the Late Holy Manifestation Realm, that leaves me as the only odd one out. How embarrassing."
"I'm sure you'll step into the Late Holy Manifestation Realm eventually. After all, you're far younger than us old codgers," the Prime Shadow replied.
"I suppose," the Mage-Dao sighed again, then glanced sideways at the Sword-Saint, who was standing, hand on hilt, staring at the Prime Shadow. She smiled once more, returning her eyes to the Prime Shadow, then John. She looked at him with a piercing, curious gaze.
"So, this boy is your successor?" she asked, eyeing John up and down. Her alluring, almost bewitching beauty and piercing eyes made it hard for John to hold her gaze, but compared to the other things he had faced directly in his life, this was more manageable. Her smile widened as John met her gaze unflinching, although he did feel as though he was being seen through in body and soul.
"Impressive," she mumbled, falling into silent contemplation.
"Since when did you accept a successor?" the Sword-Saint finally spoke, his voice calm yet cold. His narrowed eyes shifted to John as he spoke. John felt as though his soul was being pierced by swords, and was given the mental image of being flayed alive by a thousand swords.
It wasn't an active soul art the Sword-Saint was using, but was instead the natural feeling one felt when looking at the powerful sword cultivator. The Sword-Saint was able to control this by withdrawing his aura, but did not do so with John. John held the man's gaze, withstanding the pain he felt by looking at the man.
He then smiled through the pain. His smile clearly frustrated the Sword-Saint, who then intensified the pain John was feeling.
"You can stare daggers all day at him," the Prime Shadow said while walking towards the group. "It won't do you a single ounce of good. This boy has withstood more pain in the last half-year than you have in your sheltered, pampered life. In fact, I welcome it. The more my successor suffers and endures, the more he will grow in the future. I thank you for your contribution to my successor's ascension."
The Sword-Saint frowned upon hearing this, then averted his gaze from John to the Prime Shadow, who had arrived next to John, Zuri, and Naelia. Zuri looked at the Prime Shadow with awe, getting a glimpse of his power and prestige for the first time, while Naelia looked between the two groups, eyes darting back and forth with anxiety and awe.
"However," the Prime Shadow said, narrowing his eyes as the Sword-Saint. "As I said before, if you take action against my successor, not only will you join him in the afterlife, but your entire sect will as well."
A cold, deathly sensation filled the room, drowning it in silence as the two powerhouses stared at each other. Such a threat from anyone else would have received a scoff from the Sword-Saint, but the Prime Shadow was different. Of all the humans on the continent, only he was able to carry out this threat.
There was nothing more dangerous, more lethal, than a lifelong assassin with a vendetta to settle. While someone like the Sword-Sovereign was as strong as the Prime Shadow, and perhaps even stronger in direct battle, a direct battle would never happen. The Prime Shadow would be able to eliminate everyone beneath the Sword-Sovereign, the Sword-Saint included, without the Sword-Sovereign being able to stop him.
The Sword-Saint stared silently at the Prime Shadow for quite some time, eyes narrowed, hand on his sword hilt as if ready to strike at any moment. The room fell into a tense silence, eyes darting back and forth between the two.
The Sword-Saint's hand finally left his sword hilt, his aura withdrawing once more. He glared at John, mouth twisting with words unspoken.
"Even if he is your successor, his scores are impossible to believe," the Sword-Saint said coldly. "You must have helped him cheat the test."
The Prime Shadow smiled as if expecting this response from the Sword-Saint. With how much the man valued his son's prestige and status as the number one genius of the world, it was obvious that he was not going to let go of this subject easily.
"I suppose my successor's heaven-defying talent truly is too good to believe without proof," the Prime Shadow sighed, as if he was truly conflicted instead of bragging about John's talent. The Sword-Saint scowled at this obvious mockery, but remained silent. The Mage-Sovereign laughed lightly, her laugh drawing an irked glance from the Sword-Saint.
"If you want proof," the Mage-Sovereign said, ignoring the Sword-Saint's scowl. "Then why don't we take up this boy's offer from before. Bring your son here, and let them have a little spar. If his scores are fraudulent, then he will not only be making a fool of himself, but also the Prime Shadow. What do you say?"
A slight smirk appeared on both the Yang-Sovereign's and Prime Shadow's face, as the Mage-Sovereign had backed the Sword-Saint into a corner. The Sword-Saint let out an exasperated breath, eyes locked to Johns.
"I look forward to watching your tournament performance, boy," he said, emphasizing the word 'boy', then turned and stalked out of the room.
"The Sword-Saint is always so stodgy and intense. He's far too full of himself, and he's only gotten worse since the birth of his son," the Mage-Sovereign said, shaking her head lightly in disapproval. "What a bothersome person to be around."
She then shifted her gaze back to John, then the Prime Shadow.
"So, his test scores are legitimate then?" she asked for confirmation. She already knew the truth, but wanted to know for certain. If for some reason the Prime Shadow was lying about this situation, it would make the Three Dao Sects look quite idiotic once the tournament started and John was revealed to be a fraud.
The Prime Shadow only smiled in response, then looked at the Yang-Sovereign.
"I gave you John's details when I entered him into this tournament," the Prime Shadow said. "You should have known who he was from the start, and this situation would have never happened."
"You only told me that you would be entering someone from your guild for this year's tournament," the Yang-Sovereign said flatly. "And you refused to give the description of this boy to anyone other than the one who would be escorting him," he added, shifting his gaze from John to Naelia.
"If I had to guess," the Yang-Sovereign continued. "I would say you did so intentionally, to create this exact situation."
"What? I would never do something so…devious," the Prime Shadow said, the corner of his mouth curling upwards. John sighed and shook his head as he saw the Prime Shadow's poorly hidden expression.
'He definitely planned this.'
